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Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight
And as a final note - does anyone mind if I pop this out into its own thread? It's far too civil and intellectual to be part of this one.
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I don't mind - it has grown legs of its own.
GD, I can easily relate to your post. If I were starting a family, I would be dealing with many of the same issues. I loved half of my religious upbringing (the episcopal half) - In the Episcopal church, I felt very accepted and valued, and there my early interests in music and the arts were encouraged and nourished. I loved the traditional music and liturgy, and I'm really happy I had that experience. I would want to share that kind of thing with my children, but, it would be so tough, since much of the the content of that liturgy now makes me grit my teeth. (I know some who can treat the whole thing as metaphor and smile happily throughout - as I myself did for a while.)
I am intrigued by the Celebrant movement - people who create non-religious ceremonies to commemorate significant life passages. Celebrants customize their ceremonies to include their clients favorite music, verse and so on, and the result is a means of creating community and significance for those who can't get on board with traditional religious observances.
Last year, I lost an aunt (a really cool aunt, I should add) to breast cancer. She got married just a few months before her passing to a man who himself is a celebrant, and their wedding was just such a ceremony. I saw a video of it, and I was knocked out by how beautiful and open-hearted it was. Ever since I saw this, I have been wanting to learn more about it, perhaps even get involved. (There are several foundations that train for this, including one run by the Institute for Secular Humanism). At this point in my life, I have been feeling a pull toward finding some way of filling the gap left by my lack of communal ritual and shared observance. Is this the way? I don't know, but I'm looking into it.